In contrast to the typical litany of wars, famines and human rights violations, the UN News service sent out a bit of soft news at the end of the year, reporting that a UN fan proposed to girlfriend in General Assembly. It’s a very cute story about Alan Daly, an American, proposing to his German girlfriend Bettina Haussman while on a tour of the United Nations on 21 December. This is my favorite part of the story though:
Their German-Iranian UN tour guide, Ahmad Azadi, made the arrangements with UN security to let the couple enter the General Assembly’s floor, which is generally off-limit to visitors. Mr. Azadi also helped the couple celebrate their engagement with a lunch in the UN Delegate’s Dining Room.
The story continues to detail Mr. Azadi’s efforts to cut through the typical UN rules and bureaucracy so that this couple could enjoy their romantic moment at the United Nations. This included literally giving Mr. Daly the shirt off his back so that the newly engaged couple could get into the Dining Room, which requires semi-formal attire. Nice to see some UN civil servants who have their priorities straight.